What should have been a celebratory moment involving the city\u2019s beach ended in discord.<\/p>\n
Things got ugly. People went home angry and frustrated. Days later, they were still talking about one commissioner\u2019s conduct. It was more of the same: Bad Broward behavior.<\/p>\n
![\"Steve](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3WMEHWP3FZDVBMMCA4TP3UZTNM.jpg\")
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Mike Stocker\/Sun Sentinel<\/p>\n
Steve Bousquet, Sun Sentinel columnist.<\/p>\n
At issue was the city\u2019s revamped beach park<\/a> plan with upgraded basketball courts, four pickleball courts, fitness equipment and patches of artificial turf.<\/p>\n Really.<\/p>\n The city once posted signs announcing the iconic hoops would be moved without telling anyone. A grassroots movement saved the courts,<\/a> but deep suspicion lingers.<\/p>\n A vocal group of residents<\/a> does not favor pickleball on a sandy, breezy beach. They view the plan as overly generous to a developer of nearby Bahia Mar marina, who\u2019s contributing $1 million to the upgrades.<\/p>\n Some said the city failed to adequately seek public outreach and ignored their concerns about potential harm to turtle nests.<\/p>\n But sticking synthetic turf on one of the world\u2019s most famous beaches struck some as incongruous, or worse.<\/p>\n \u201cI think you need to re-dream plastic grass,\u201d resident Bob Kimble said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t belong in any parks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFake grass is toxic. Bad for the environment,\u201d said another resident, Chris Stachowski.<\/p>\n Even the city Parks and Recreation board \u2014 appointed by commissioners \u2014 was critical, urging \u201cremoval of artificial turf in favor of natural landscaping materials.\u201d<\/p>\n The parks board was not asked for its input on the plan, and it didn\u2019t see the rendering until a week before the vote. It asked for a delay.<\/p>\n To be sure, some residents enthusiastically support the revamped beach park. But what lingered was Commissioner Steve Glassman\u2019s outburst.<\/p>\n He aggressively defended use of artificial turf on the beach and called it better than real grass. Speaking at length, he said he has had no complaints about the beach park plan. He accused residents of misrepresentations and exaggerations and of being \u201cridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSynthetic turf technology has advanced significantly,\u201d said Glassman, calling real grass, \u201ca pain to maintain\u201d that needs pesticides and gas-powered mowers.<\/p>\n Resistance to artificial turf might be eased if the city had taken the time to explain in great detail its benefits and risks. Turf has a serious image problem in Fort Lauderdale because of costly, blazing hot turf at a small park near the tunnel.<\/p>\n Websites of environmental groups such as Clean Water Action and the Sierra Club<\/a>, which endorsed Glassman in 2024, discuss turf\u2019s hazards at length.<\/p>\n \u201cUse of synthetic turf in place of natural green spaces negatively impacts human and environmental health,\u201d Sierra\u2019s turf policy reads.<\/p>\n Glassman, shouting, sarcastically ridiculed opponents, saying: \u201cThat awful turf area, oh, my God, with all the plastics.\u201d<\/p>\n As murmurs of opposition rolled through the room, Glassman asked Mayor Dean Trantalis: \u201cCan you control the audience, please?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cKeep talking,\u201d Trantalis said.<\/p>\n He did. After a 10-minute rant, Glassman said, \u201cI\u2019m not going to belabor the point,\u201d which brought howls of mocking laughter.<\/p>\n